August 9, 2024 — U.S. activists opposed to offshore wind development areforming a national coalition aimed at fighting projects from California to New England, according to the effort’s founder and two other organizations.
MASSACHUSETTS: Federal, state officials attend Nantucket Select Board meeting to address Vineyard Wind turbine incident
August 8, 2024 — Federal and state officials attended the Nantucket Select Board meeting on Wednesday to address ongoing concerns about the damaged wind turbine that has cast debris onto the island’s beaches since early July.
“There are still parts of the blade that are remaining on the turbine,” said Roger Martella, the chief sustainability officer of GE Vernova, the blade’s manufacturer. He estimated it to be about seven to eight percent of the mass of the blade.
Martella said that on Thursday, if weather permits, crews plan to remove that remaining part of the blade that’s currently at risk of falling into the ocean.
One resident asked if the high winds expected from Tropical Storm Debby could loosen other blades.
But Martella said that was not likely.
“The storm is not a risk for the turbines or the blades or anything like that,” Martella said during the meeting, which was livestreamed.
MASSACHUSETTS: New offshore wind projects delayed by state, including areas off Martha’s Vineyard
August 8, 2024 — It’s going to be at least another month before contenders for the state’s fourth, and largest, offshore wind procurement will be unveiled.
The state Department of Energy Resources on Tuesday indicated in a letter submitted to Department of Public Utilities Secretary Mark Marini that selection of projects will be postponed until Sept. 6. The agency’s evaluation team was originally scheduled to announce the selected bids and the start of negotiations on Aug. 7.
“The additional time is needed to consider any impacts to this solicitation from the recently announced federal grant to New England states through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Innovation Program for projects to invest in regional electric infrastructure to ready the onshore transmission system for offshore wind,” the letter reads.
New England scores $389M from feds for energy
August 8, 2024 — The federal government is awarding $389 million to the New England states for regional electric infrastructure upgrades.
State officials announced the funding award earlier this week, saying the Power Up New England proposal features upgrades to interconnection points in southeast Massachusetts and southeast Connecticut to prepare the region for more offshore wind power.
MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind turbine debris makes it to Cape Cod
August 7, 2024 — Debris from the failed Vineyard Wind Turbine has washed ashore in Falmouth, town officials said, weeks after a blade broke off and fell into the ocean.
The turbine, manufactured by GE Vernova and part of the Vineyard Wind project, failed on July 13. The debris has scattered across nearby beaches, angering residents on Nantucket.
A preliminary investigation by GE found that the failure was due to a manufacturing deviation.
In a statement, Falmouth says it found what they believe to be wind turbine debris in the water and on the shoreline at Black Beach, Cahpoquoit Beach, Woodneck Beach, and Old Silver Beach.
CT-based Avangrid wind farm under scrutiny, energy production halted, after blade shatters.
August 7, 2024 — The massive blade that broke off a windmill tower, splashed down into the ocean and had pieces wash up on Nantucket beaches a few weeks ago is having repercussions here today in Connecticut.
The joint venture project being developed by a division of Orange-based Avangrid and a Dutch renewable energy company is under scrutiny, even as construction of the 806-megawatt offshore wind farm came to halt in mid-July when a 300-foot section of a 360-foot blade broke off one of the turbines that are part of Vineyard Wind. The project, which is a joint venture of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is being developed about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.
The project began producing 5 megawatts of electricity at the start of 2024 and has gradually been increasing its power production, but that energy production has also been halted as the investigation into what caused the turbine blade to break off is still underway. The joint venture partners are also still scrambling to clean up the shards of fiberglass from the turbine that smashed into pieces and washed ashore beaches on both islands during the height of the summer tourist season.
New England awarded $390M federal grant for offshore wind infrastructure upgrades
August 7, 2024 — A regional project to upgrade the infrastructure connecting offshore wind farms to the electric grid was awarded nearly $390 million in federal funding through a competitive grant program, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday.
The Power Up New England project, submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on behalf of all six New England states, was one eight projects nationwide awarded $2.2 billion through DOE’s Grid Innovation Program.
The project is a collaboration among state agency energy departments, local utility companies and an unnamed “emerging technology developer.” It aims to ready the region for the flurry of new offshore wind projects which, once finished, collectively bring several thousand megawatts of renewable electricity to the regional grid. The $389 million in federal funding, which requires a $500 million local match, specifically pays for new and upgraded interconnection points in southeastern Massachusetts and southeastern Connecticut, as well as new battery storage systems in southwest Connecticut and in Maine.
MASSACHUSETTS: FDA issues warning on oysters potentially contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni
August 7, 2024 — The Food and Drug Administration is asking businesses to avoid either selling or buying certain oysters from Lewis Bay, Massachusetts, over fears that the seafood could be contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni.
The advisory affects restaurants and retailers in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania who purchased the oysters from July 1 to July 18.
The move comes after the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries closed an oyster site after an outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni illnesses associated with consumption of oysters from two lease sites in Lewis Bay.
Two certified dealers, Chatham Shellfish Co. and Island Creek Oysters, recalled the oysters.
MAINE: Maine Department of Marine resources halts shellfish harvest due to water contamination
August 7, 2024 — Areas for shellfish harvesting have been closed due to contaminated runoff from recent heavy rainfall.
Maine’s Department of Marine Resources says it’s closed areas of the Freeport-Harpswell coast after rain showers carried animal waste into waters where shellfish feed.
Parts of Scarborough, Brunswick, and Yarmouth are also closed due to waste runoff.
Bryant Lewis at MDMR says that filter feeders like the shellfish in these areas are of special concern when water is contaminated like this.
Op-ed: How to rebalance responsible fisheries management post-Chevron
August 7, 2024 — Sam Grimley has served as the executive director of environmental nonprofit Sea Pact since 2022. Alexandra Golub is the sustainability manager at New York City-headquartered Acme Smoked Fish.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New England herring harvesters who believed they were unfairly forced to bear the financial burden of independent at-sea monitors hired to observe their fishing operations.
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